And to celebrate - and if you really cannot wait that long - a little sneak peek, a teaser if you will - the opening scene of The Forever Queen...

The cliff fell away below us, down to a jagged pile
of rocks pounded incessantly by waves the colour of iron. The sky above was
overcast but here and there the cloud broke, and long fingers of sunlight
touched the water, turning the tops of the waves to cascades of diamonds. Away
on the horizon the sky was black, lit now and then by the lightening of the
encroaching storm.

It was beautiful, in a breath-taking, exciting kind
of way, but I barely sparred it a glance. I didn’t have eyes for anything but
Lance.

He was more breath-taking than any view. His hair
hung longer than the last time I’d seen it, and the wind tugged at the dark
curls, pulling them into his eyes.

Despite the cold wind he wore just a thin t-shirt,
and the fabric strained at his biceps and around his chest. Was he even bigger,
more muscular, than last time I’d seen him? How long had it been now? Months
for me, since I had left him, but for him it could have been anything. Minutes,
hours, days, maybe even years. Time moved so differently in Avalon it was impossible
to know. What I did know was that he was still in Avalon, and I wasn’t.

“This is just a dream,” I mumbled as tears started to
slip down my cheeks.

He reached for me, catching the tears with his thumb.
“Yes.”

A sob bubbled up but I forced it back down. It might
only have been a dream, but I couldn’t let tears ruin those few precious
moments with him. My dreams were the only thing I had left of him.

“I miss you.” I forced the words out around the sob,
my voice breaking.

His eyes closed, and in one motion he enfolded me in
his arms. I clung to him, twisting my fingers into his t-shirt. Burying my face
in his chest, I breathed in the scent of him and the all too familiar smell of
metal polish. It was a smell I associated with him. Would always associate with
him.

His heart beat steadily beneath my cheek, almost
fooling me into believing it was really him.

“You’re not real,” I whispered into his chest, more
to remind myself than anything else.

His chest rumbled with a laugh. “Just because this
is a dream, that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. You should know that better than
most.”

I tipped my head back to look at him and he took the
opportunity to lower his lips to mine. He kissed me long and slow, and I fought
back tears again. I had missed this so much, the feel of him close to me, his
arms around me, one hand tangled in my hair.

I had missed him. His strength and gentleness, and
that look in his eyes that said nothing mattered but me.

“Don’t cry, Cariad,” he murmured against my lips.

I shivered at the endearment. “But this isn’t fair.
I need you back. I did everything that was expected of me, and yet I paid for
it by losing you.”

“You haven’t lost me, you could never lose me.”

That wasn’t true. I had lost him. He may have still
been alive, but he was gone, locked in another world. “Nothing works,” I told
him. “I’ve been trying to find a way into Avalon, but all the gateways are
sealed.”

“The barriers were rebuilt when you traced your
blood on the stone, and that should have been it, but for some reason all the
gateways sealed themselves as well. Something went wrong. The Fair Folk are
angry, they think you sealed the gateways on purpose, trapping them in Avalon –
“

“I – never – “

“I know, Cariad. As does Merlin. Something came
through when the barriers were at their weakest, and Merlin believes that
whatever it was caused the gateways to seal. If it was a creature of magic then
it must not be allowed to roam free in your world. You must find it, track it,
and then find a way to send it back to Avalon.”

My heart leapt and lodged in my throat. It wasn’t
supposed to be like this. Sending Morgana back to Avalon should have been the
end of it. My fate and destiny had been fulfilled, hadn’t they?

Lance didn’t seem to notice my distress. “Merlin
says you must-“

A deafening pounding sound drowned out Lance’s words
and I clung to him as something tried to pull me away. He started to fade and I
realised I was waking up.

“No, not yet,” I cried, trying to force myself back to
sleep, but already the dream was disappearing and as my eyes opened I realised
the pounding was coming from my bedroom door.